Television, radio, and social media are all ways to spread information. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars, and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands of messages and voices bombard us from the moment we wake up, fighting for our attention. All we see and hear, all day long, is news, and most of it is bad. No realizing the everlasting impact social media sites such as Facebook has on our lives, we reframe from using them in a manner of empowerment, uplifting and bring people together. Thinking back on the most recent election, we know that social media including Facebook can be used to influence the vote of the American people. Social media can be used to tremendously impact the American people way of thinking or the way of perceiving an individual. Social media has impacted America in so many ways for the modern day political campaign. It has become one of the world’s most powerful news outlet. The news that is posted on social media is not always accurate but it reaches a lot of people very fast. Three ways that political candidates can use Facebook are for spreading their platforms, polling their supporters, and assessing their standing in an election. One-way politicians can use their social media platforms to influence their voters is to constantly be engaging with their audience. Today, there are a lot of ways to get news feed from all over the world. A lot of people think that the only people that are on Facebook are younger
More and more people are getting their news from social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumbler and many more, and candidates are using this to their advantage. This election is probably one of the first were candidates have actually used social media sites as their direct communication line to potential voters. Social media today had gone from gossip and family pictures to a location for political strategy. Thanks largely to trumps regular social media first declarations and its actually working particularly with the younger voters. A study released last year from the Pew Research Center that Marissa Lang cited showed that “Among 18- to 29-year-olds, nearly two-thirds said social media is the most helpful means of learning new things about politics.” (Lang, 2016). Even if the candidate isn’t the one posting the video or message in the end it will still end up on social media. For example, Trump had announced his plan to ban all Muslims from entering the united states in South Carolina not on social media however it found its way there and spread like wild fire. This sent those who were outraged to respond in disgust and those who encouraged it to share it so that their friends could see and so on and so on. Even if those who shared it did it to
Additionally to television, many political figures including Barrack Obama use social networking as a way to reach American citizens. Social networking is practically a right of passage among youth today. Political influences are in all types of media. Any young person that uses social networking or watches television is choosing to not pay attention to politics. “It would be reading too much into such responses to say that these two-thirds of young Americans didn’t value voting; they could well have seen voting as a fundamental right or a crucial choice. Nevertheless, without a
As the US election approaches, more and more people are paying attention to politics and social issues. Some Americans are using Facebook or Instagram to appeal to people to support one of the political parties or candidates. Not only Americans, but also people all around the
In fact, the 2008 presidential election has even been coined as the “Facebook Election”. Although the concept of social media was still on the rise, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube were not completely unaware of their role/leverage in American electoral politics. In fact, during the presidential campaign, each site found their own way to encourage users to discuss the election or issues contained
The 2016 presidential election may happen to be one of the most memorable elections to have ever been. From the campaign speeches, to the Democratic and Republican National conventions, and even the presidential debates; Americans seemed to constantly be voicing their opinions on every aspect of the election, and who they believe is the more suitable candidate for president, especially on social media. The 2016 presidential election marks one of the more recent elections where we start to see social media’s impact on it. We see how presidential candidates use social media as a platform to voice about updates on their campaign as well as communicate with their supporters. With the continue rise in the number of social media users as well as politicians now using social media, how much has its impact had on elections and Americans outlook on the campaign.
The impact social media has had on American politics is undeniable. Because of social media it is now more difficult than ever to decipher between what is fact and what is fiction. This new form of political information sharing has left people more uncertain than ever before. Despite its downfalls, social media has had a massive impact on politics and it would be negligent to ignore it in its entirety, however social media should be used and consumed in moderation and in conjunction with other forms of
As technology continues to advance over time, political parties are able to further advance their operations. The use of social media on politics in our society has impacted all Americans; regardless of their party. One of these impacts is that technology has created a fundamental flow of communication, which, as a result, makes it easier for the candidates to persuade their party. An example of this communication would be things such as, but not limited to: newspapers, television and even twitter. During this election year, if a viewer is watching television, they are guaranteed to see at least one commercial promoting a candidates belief, in order for viewers to gain knowledge and opinion on the stance of each party.
Social media can also play a vital role in influencing the political decisions of its users. Multiple studies have been conducted measuring Facebook’s impact on young people. Some suggest that young Internet users are more influenced by other young people online. Others suggest young voters seem to trust older users’ evaluations more (Lee). People who intend to vote need to understand that they have to think for these issues themselves. There is nothing wrong with discussing these issues with others online, but why constantly let others decide for you? Politicians have to use social media
In his article “How Social Media is Ruining Politics”, Nicolas Carr argues that the media of today is more “encompassing and controlling than ever before. (Carr 1)” Media can be manipulated in a way that allows a candidate to have a perceived excellent reputation. However, it can also provide the candidate with a disadvantage by misrepresenting their ideas. As James Fallows, author of “ Learning to love the (Shallow, Divisive, Unreliable) New Media”, points out, “If ideas are misrepresented, it becomes easier to lie. (Fallows 4)” Candidates can easily change the context of their message to make it more appealing on a social media platform. this change causes political issues to become an easily overlooked. He concludes that social media is primarily “used to create a warm emotional connection for a candidate rather than keeping the focus on issues that would help our country.(Carr)” In his article, “Beware of Online Filter Bubbles”, Eli Pariser expresses similar concerns to Carr. He concedes that popular internet mediums like Yahoo and Google “filter search results to fit the needs and intrests of the user. (Pariser)” The websites “filter in what users like and filter out what they dislike. (Pariser)” His concern is that “online media personalization causes important issues to be overlooked easily. (Pariser)” His research provides a
Social media has emerged as a prominent political platform that attracts voters otherwise unreachable. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and bloggers are replacing traditional media influence on public opinion with a more efficient outlet. “They target niche audiences with growing precision, contact hard-to-reach voters, extend their influence as online supporters forward their messages and carry out many campaign tasks at much lower cost than before." remarks Tom Price author of “Social Media and Politics: Do Facebook and Twitter influence voters? Social media has the potential to be an even more dangerous medium of influence because of its “ability to collect enormous amounts of information about individual voters — through social media and traditional
The progression of technology has enhanced the availability to methods in which interaction among people and social media has been/is used to get messages across, obtain information, and maintain the ability to influence how a person is viewed by either a singular person or a group of individuals. The prevalence of social media in politics has broadened the accessibility and availability to politician’s ideals, campaigns, and standpoints. It also has allowed politicians to campaign more independently to create their own self-image. Broadcasting this information on social media comes with the potential to influence power relationships among politicians, political parties, or those merely interested in politics. Communicating to the public
A way for practitioners to manage reputation on social media is by monitoring, reacting, and providing proactive strategies for candidates (Virgillito, 2014). Figure 1.5 displays the top 2016 Presidential candidates Facebook page “likes” from 2015 to 2016, and is an example of how reputation can help with building followers on social media. The graph shows how candidates who led in 2015 have since dropped out of the race or are currently leading in the 2016 primary, which is likely due to their reputation. With the graph in mind, communications practitioners should reflect on the following questions: Can a candidate’s reputation on social media increase or decrease their profile page "likes?” Can their reputation on social media give an indication of who voters are likely to support in the presidential
In recent years, many scholars have begun recognizing the importance of social media and the Internet in politics, particularly an increase of political involvement by social media users. (Ancu & Cozma, 2009). Historically the Internet first became involved in the political arena in 1996 with the election between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. (Trammell, 2007) Each election since has seen an increase in candidate participation on Internet forums and social media websites. In a political campaign, the Internet and social media provide ways to release information to the masses and connect further with their voters. It also allows voters to share their political views with friends, express support for specific candidates, and share campaign material
A wise candidate should realize that social media is a tool, but it has yet to replace the value of getting his face on the front page of the paper or on the 6:00 p.m. newscast. While the candidates may tout their "grass roots campaign" using social media to get in direct touch with voters, they know they need you desperately to win.Politicians who are pleased with a particular news story will sometimes praise the reporter for fairness and objectivity. When the story's not so positive, claims of media bias will usually pour out from the
In today’s world, it is not difficult to find people, especially young adults, staring at their smartphone screen everywhere they go. Especially the social media platform Facebook has started to become an essential part of everyone’s daily life as one of the most influential communication tools. Beyond the role of social networking platform where you find your high school classmates, Facebook has evolved to a “mass communication media” that impacts both economic and political activities. Examples of Facebook influencing the study of International Political Economy are plenty and prevalent, including its roles in spreading information about jobs and wage information, discovering new products and services, sharing reviews on